Parenting

6 Reasons You Should Wait Until Baby Is Born Before Choosing a Name

ParentingPublished Nov 13, 2013
By Lisa Fogarty
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____Oh, the stress of finding the PERFECT name for your baby -- it's enough to drive some couples to wonder what the heck they ever saw in one other! I'm exaggerating, of course, but I will admit I viewed my husband with different eyes (eyes that rolled all the way to the back of my head) when I heard some of the ridiculous names he suggested for our firstborn girl. And he thought I was on drugs wanting to name our daughter "Aurora" and other mystical monikers I surely found by climbing into a time machine and pulling from my 8-year-old brain -- his words, not mine.

There's a way to save yourself all of the drama that comes from choosing the ideal name. You simply WAIT. Wait until your baby is actually born and then decide on a name. Not convinced it will make a difference? Here are 6 reasons why it makes perfect sense. 

1. You will get into fewer arguments with your partner about names. As I mentioned before, even the closest of couples will have differences of opinion when it comes to baby names. Unless one person bows out gracefully, it will become necessary to compromise on a name you both like. This might be easier to do if you don't have months and months to rethink your decision and harass your partner the following day with yet another name that he will probably despise.

2. Family and friends won't be able to criticize your name choice ahead of time. Isn't it annoying when you announce the name you've chosen and you hear crickets in the room? Or when some particularly blunt aunt scrunches up her face and says, "Oh, you're serious?" 

3. You'll have at least one thing to look forward to during pregnancy -- um, aside from your baby, of course. We can find out our baby's gender at five months. We can schedule C-sections for specific days and undergo tests that tell us so much about his or her genetic make-up. 4D ultrasounds can even provide our first scarily accurate portraits of our new baby! With so few surprises left, it's nice to leave something like choosing a baby name until the very end.

4. You may have a name in mind, but when you actually meet your baby, it doesn't do him or her justice. My husband and I really liked the name "Grace," which makes me think of a child who moves slowly and deliberately and maybe plays piano. But our daughter came out of the womb like a warrior princess -- one who will dominate a soccer field one day. She's a "Kiera" all the way.

5. Some people make better decisions when they're under pressure. At some point during your hospital stay, you're going to have to fill out a form in order to obtain a birth certificate for your little one. You'll have a limited amount of time to choose a name. And some of us are simply better at making solid decisions when we're under the gun. 

6. The less time you have to waste during pregnancy perusing baby name sites or fumbling through baby name books, the better. No name ever seems right. And then you find one you like, Google it, and discover it means "hatred" in Swahili. Seriously, save yourself the frustration and go take a much-needed nap instead. 

Would you consider waiting until you give birth to name your baby?

Image via statisticsons/Flickr

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